Ukraine, 2000

At the outset, allow me

to congratulate you, Sir, on your assumption of the

presidency of the General Assembly at the current

session and to wish you every success in discharging

your duties.

I would also like to pay full tribute to your

predecessor, Minister Gurirab, whose vast diplomatic

experience and able guidance throughout the fifty-

fourth session greatly contributed to its success and to

the ultimate triumph of the Millennium Summit.

It has been only 10 days since the historic event

of the Millennium Summit secured an unprecedented

quorum of the world's leaders to discuss at the highest

level the role and place of the United Nations in the

system of international relations in the new era. By

adopting the Millennium Declaration, the international

community clearly demonstrated its support for the

fundamental purposes and principles of the United

Nations Charter, which continue to be the basis of

international law and the main instrument that governs

international relations.

Ukraine's active participation in the work of the

Millennium Summit and in the Security Council

Summit, which was held on the initiative of the

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President of Ukraine, testifies to the special importance

that my country attaches to the activities of this

universal Organization.

Like most other States — and the Millennium

Summit unequivocally reconfirmed this — Ukraine

denounces the threat or use of force as a means of

solving inter-State problems. We strongly believe that

only the United Nations possesses both the relevant

powers and the wide range of tools and mechanisms to

address today's major global problems. These problems

are the same today as they were several decades ago:

war, poverty, inequality in distribution of resources,

repression and discrimination.

Having gathered on 7 September at the level of

heads of State and Government for the second time in

United Nations history, the Security Council reaffirmed

its readiness to bear an essential share of responsibility

for building a world free of fear, poverty and injustice.

We consider the most important achievement of

the Security Council Summit to have been the

commitment, reaffirmed at the highest level, to

ensuring the effective functioning of the system of

collective security and to enhancing the efficiency of

available mechanisms for preserving peace and, in

particular, for conducting peacekeeping operations. We

believe that the United Nations will not be able

adequately to respond to the challenges to peace and

security in the twenty-first century unless its

peacekeeping potential is enhanced. Ukraine welcomes

the report of the Panel on United Nations Peace

Operations, chaired by Ambassador Brahimi. My

country finds most of its recommendations substantial

and far-reaching and calls for their speedy

implementation.

Ukraine has always considered United Nations

peacekeeping to be one of the most important raisons

d'etre of this Organization, which is called upon “to

save succeeding generations from the scourge of war”.

That is precisely why since 1992 more than 12,000

representatives of Ukraine have participated in 20

United Nations peacekeeping operations and missions.

Since the beginning of this year, Ukraine, fully

recognizing its additional responsibility for

maintaining international peace as a member of the

Security Council, has increased twentyfold its

contribution to peacekeeping operations.

In the course of the past eight months alone,

Ukraine has deployed a contingent of 650 troops with

the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon

(UNIFIL). We have also sent a group of military

observers to the United Nations Organization Mission

in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC),

to Ethiopia and Eritrea, and have sent a group of

civilian police to the United Nations Transitional

Administration in East Timor (UNTAET). The

deployment of a special Ukrainian police unit of 115

servicemen with the United Nations police force in

Kosovo is being completed this week. Our military

contingent earmarked for the United Nations operation

in the Democratic Republic of the Congo stands in full

operational readiness.

Regrettably, it is common knowledge that human

history can be called a chronicle of continuous wars

and conflicts. I hope that at the end of the second

millennium, having learned from its tragic past,

humankind has finally grasped the simple truth — that

it is necessary to fight the fires of wars long before

they have erupted, because even the costliest peace is

much better than the cheapest war. This leads me to

emphasize the importance of the most expeditious and

effective implementation of the proposal put forward

by the President of Ukraine at the Millennium Summit

and at the Security Council Summit. He spoke in

favour of developing a comprehensive United Nations

conflict prevention strategy, based on the large-scale

use of preventive diplomacy and peace-building.

Ukrainian experts stand ready for this work. I am glad

to note that almost all the leaders who addressed the

Millennium Summit recognized preventive action as a

priority for the United Nations in maintaining peace.

In our view, the concept of regional centres on

conflict prevention can become a practical step towards

developing a relevant United Nations strategy. In this

context, Ukraine's recent proposal to establish a

regional centre for ethnic studies in Kyiv, under the

auspices of the Organization for Security and

Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), deserves proper

attention. We think that the activities of such a centre,

authorized to monitor current developments in the

sphere of inter-ethnic relations in the OSCE region and

directed at the timely detection of dangerous separatist

tendencies, will be conducive to a further elaboration

of the United Nations preventive strategy in

cooperation with the OSCE.

My country is keenly following the process of

conflict settlement in the neighbouring Balkans, the

troublesome region of Europe. While developments in

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Bosnia give us sufficient grounds for optimism about

the future of its peoples, the situation in Kosovo still

causes us serious concern. We are confident that a

peaceful settlement in Kosovo has to be pursued in

strict compliance with Security Council resolution

1244 (1999), with full respect for the sovereignty and

territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of

Yugoslavia. In our view, it is impossible to resolve this

problem without determining the future status of

Kosovo following negotiations between the Federal

Republic of Yugoslavia and the authorized

representatives of the province.

Ukraine is determined to intensify efforts aimed

at promoting the final peaceful settlement of the so-

called “frozen” conflicts in the post-Soviet territories,

particularly in Abkhazia, Georgia; Nagorny Karabakh,

Azerbaijan; and Transdniestria, Moldova. As a member

of the group of Friends of the Secretary-General, which

is promoting a peaceful settlement of the almost

decade-long Georgian-Abkhaz conflict, Ukraine cannot

but be concerned about the lack of real progress

towards peace in the region. I once again confirm the

invitation by President Kuchma to host in Yalta the

next round of negotiations between the Georgian and

Abkhaz sides aimed at confidence-building.

President Kuchma has also presented a feasible

plan for the settlement of the Transdniestria conflict,

based on the principle of “acquired status” acceptable

to all conflicting parties. Ukraine, together with the

OSCE, is currently examining the possibility of

reorganizing the peacekeeping mission in the region,

which will be made up of peacekeeping contingents

from Ukraine, Russia and other OSCE members. We

very much hope that in the long run these initiatives

will reinvigorate the process of resolving the conflict.

The credibility of the United Nations will always

be measured by its ability to provide an adequate

response to threats to peace and security in every

region of the world. Today this principle should be

upheld by giving special attention to the problems of

the African continent. The untold sufferings of the

peoples of Africa, resulting from both intra-State and

inter-State conflicts, are unlike those in any other part

of the globe.

Ukraine is determined to make a practical

contribution to United Nations peace efforts aimed at

resolving conflicts in Africa. This determination is

reinforced by our aspiration to expand trade and

economic cooperation with our African partners. Let

me repeat the words of the President of Ukraine at the

Security Council Summit:

“Ukraine looks forward to a century of African

renaissance and stands ready to hasten its

arrival.” (S/PV.4194, p. 13)

I would like to underline that, in resolving

conflicts in Africa the international community has no

alternative but to promote the need for strict adherence

to the principles of sovereignty, political independence

and territorial integrity of the countries of the region.

This has to be particularly emphasized in relation to the

conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the

most dangerous challenge to peace at the turn of the

century. Ukraine calls on all parties to the Lusaka

Agreement to comply fully with the relevant Security

Council resolutions and to implement their own

commitments.

The recent events in Sierra Leone have become a

serious test for our Organization. They prove the urgent

need to consolidate international efforts, with a view to

strengthening the effectiveness of United Nations

peacekeeping.

I reiterate our position on the need to continue

enhancing the sanctions regime against Angola's rebel

group, UNITA. We are convinced that reducing

UNITA's ability to wage war is an essential

prerequisite for restoring peace in Angola. It should

also be borne in mind that the sanctions have to be

accompanied by greater international efforts to resolve

this long-lasting conflict.

We note with optimism the latest developments in

the process of settlement in Somalia. This long-

suffering nation is painfully but steadily overcoming

the obstacles in its path to peace and stability.

Over the past year an important step forward was

taken in advancing one of the integral parts of the

Middle East peace process — its Israeli-Lebanese

component. The withdrawal of Israeli troops from

southern Lebanon in compliance with Security Council

resolution 425 (1978) has created new conditions for

further progress in the whole process. Ukraine

sincerely hopes that Israel and Syria will also be able

to achieve a breakthrough in their stalled negotiation

process in the near future, and calls upon the parties to

resume the dialogue as soon as possible.

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We are following closely the process of solving

the core issue of the Middle East problem — the

question of Palestine. It is our firm belief that the

political wisdom and farsightedness of the Israelis and

Palestinians will eventually help them to reach a

mutually acceptable compromise. We welcome the

10 September decision by the Palestinian Central

Council to postpone the date of proclamation of the

State of Palestine. Ukraine hopes that, following

strenuous efforts on both sides, the Palestinian people

will finally exercise their right to self-determination

and to their own statehood.

The promotion of disarmament and nuclear non-

proliferation are among the crucial issues before the

United Nations and the whole international community

at the turn of the century. We are convinced that those

processes should go along with the overall

improvement of the international situation in other

spheres, the creation and practical implementation of

universal security guarantees, unconditional adherence

by States and international organizations to the norms

and basic principles of international law and the

consolidation of an atmosphere of mutual trust.

As a country which has made outstanding

contributions to the process of practical nuclear

disarmament, Ukraine fully shares the concern that the

attention of the international community to this issue

has substantially decreased. We believe that nuclear

disarmament and non-proliferation are the cornerstones

of international security and a means of averting a

global conflict. In our view, achieving the universality

of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the

Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty is the best way to

prevent nuclear proliferation and to ensure the

elimination of nuclear weapons. It is the nuclear States

that should be in the vanguard of this process.

The problem of illegal arms trafficking, which

has acquired a global dimension, also requires a

universal approach to its solution. The key role of the

United Nations is indispensable in consolidating the

international efforts to fight this evil.

Turning now to the problem of the Security

Council-imposed sanctions, I would like to reaffirm the

position of my country on this issue. Sanctions were

designed as a powerful tool to ensure the

implementation of the Council's decisions. However,

they were eventually turned into ineffective and

sometimes even harmful instruments. It is therefore

absolutely necessary to develop a clear and coherent

methodology for the imposition and lifting of sanctions

that takes into consideration the concerns of innocent

civilian populations and the interests of third countries.

Ukraine supports the recent Security Council

practice of defining time limits of sanctions at the stage

of their imposition. We believe that it is of primary

importance to develop objective criteria and

mechanisms for assessing the effectiveness of sanctions

and their impact — including on the target State. We

also support the immediate lifting of sanctions when

there are sufficient grounds to believe that they have

served their purpose. This is indeed the case as far as

the sanctions against Libya are concerned, where the

Security Council should move, as soon as possible, to

the next stage and take a long-overdue action.

Among the major challenges of the new century,

the problem of HIV/AIDS occupies a special place.

AIDS has become an epidemic of global proportions

with enormous human and social ramifications that go

far beyond the province of health alone. The time has

come for the United Nations to elaborate a

comprehensive agenda for action against this

pandemic. Aware of the magnitude of this problem, the

delegation of Ukraine, together with other sponsors has

promoted the convening, as a matter of urgency, of a

special session of the General Assembly on that

question. We are encouraged by the wide support for

this idea and look forward to further work towards its

realization.

We are convinced that the multilateral forms of

international cooperation have played and will continue

to play a decisive role in the attainment of the goals of

sustainable development. We support the reform efforts

of the Administrator of the United Nations

Development Programme (UNDP) for improving the

situation in the field of mobilization of resources and

enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of its work.

During the difficult period of economic

transition, the assistance to Ukraine by UNDP plays an

important role by streamlining the efforts of various

international partners. It also helps to alleviate the

complex problems related to the elimination of the

Chernobyl disaster's consequences and the

decommissioning of the Chernobyl nuclear power

plant.

I would like to take this opportunity to express

our gratitude to the countries participating in the July

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donors' conference in Berlin, which pledged more than

$320 million of additional funding for the

transformation of the shelter facility into an

environmentally safe system. Almost $50 million still

needs to be raised to reach the amount required, and we

count on continuing international assistance in this

regard. I believe this could be effectuated within the

framework of the United Nations Chernobyl

programme. Let me underline that these funds will be

aimed mainly at the implementation of realistic

objectives, specifically the decommissioning and

eventual closing down of the Chernobyl nuclear power

plant by 15 December 2000, a decision that was

reconfirmed by the President of Ukraine at the

Millennium Summit.

We also hope that consideration at the current

session of the General Assembly of the item relating to

the integration of the countries with economies in

transition into the world economic system will make it

possible to elaborate a common strategy to solve

specific problems of these countries.

In this context, we attach great importance to the

accession of Ukraine to the World Trade Organization.

International economic cooperation at the regional

level is also of significance for Ukraine. I mean, in

particular, the development of our relations with the

European Union and interaction within the framework

of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization

and the Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and

Republic of Moldova (GUUAM) group.

Fulfilling the concept of “human rights for all” in

the next century is a task of global dimension. That is

why strengthening and improving the international

monitoring of human rights violations becomes

particularly acute today. At the same time, we remain

convinced that the use of force cannot be considered an

adequate means of ensuring respect for human rights.

I wish to emphasize that adherence to and

protection of human rights became the key policy

principle of my country. Ukraine has signed and

ratified all basic international documents in the field of

human rights and put in place at the national level

effective mechanisms for their implementation. This

year Ukraine adopted a decision to abolish capital

punishment.

The time that has passed since the historic Rome

Conference clearly reaffirmed the epoch-making

significance of the document it adopted. We consider

the International Criminal Court the only viable

democratic mechanism of a universal character to

enforce compliance with and respect for international

humanitarian law.

I would like to join previous speakers in

expressing our great hopes for the continuing role of

the United Nations in bringing solutions to global

problems. Given the complexity and the

multidimensional nature of this task, our Organization

needs to stand on a solid financial footing. We hope

that this session will enable us to speed up the process

of reforming and improving the mechanisms of the

apportionment of the United Nations expenses on the

basis of objective economic criteria. Therefore, the

process of United Nations reform, initiated three years

ago, should get additional impetus.

There is also a need to reactivate the efforts

aimed at Security Council reform, which is the key

element within the process of renewing the United

Nations. This was rightly emphasized in the statements

of many world leaders at the Millennium Summit.

The absence of substantive progress on this issue

limits the capacities of the Council as the major

instrument of collective security. I would like to

reiterate the position of Ukraine that the Security

Council's comprehensive reform should be based on

the norms and principles of the United Nations Charter.

In our view, increased representation in the Security

Council for all regional groups should remain an

essential principle. The interests of both developed and

developing countries have to be taken into account.

Ukraine believes that the necessary balance within an

expanded Security Council can be achieved through an

increase in both categories of its members.

By pursuing the path of strengthening the United

Nations and building up its institutions on democratic

foundations, the international community reinforces its

own capacity to meet the challenges of the time and to

create a climate of justice in international relations and

an atmosphere of mutual respect between States,

peoples and civilizations.

In the course of the historic Millennium Summit,

the international community, enriched by this

Organization's half-century of experience, outlined the

road map to be followed by mankind in the twenty-first

century. Only by intensifying concerted and resolute

efforts to attain our determined goals will we realize

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the ideals of the Charter of the United Nations. After

all, this is the only raison d'être for our Organization.